Cadillac SRX First Generation Forum - 2004 - 2009 Discussion, So... What is wrong with your NEW SRX? in Cadillac SRX / XT5 Forums; Just did the torque converter, luckily we have GMPP 2005 N* AWD 62000 miles. Now a hum has started . ...

Re: So... What is wrong with your NEW SRX?

Just did the torque converter, luckily we have GMPP 2005 N* AWD 62000 miles. Now a hum has started. Not the radio, not the Load Level compressor. Think it is a fuel pump issue, sound like a tuning fork (constant tone pitch) sometimes louder, we hear it when we are stopped moving and when I hear it and shut off the ignition it goes away. Wife claims she hears it lower and behind her. going to wait until it is more consistent then we will bring it in.

Re: So... What is wrong with your NEW SRX?

Robersch... It is the Factory Visor Universal. Yes, I am thinking something is wrong with it because others state theirs works fine - and the fact that all other remotes in my household work fine opening these doors.

I can't use it on "My" door because my door is a brand that doesn't have a "Learn" feature. To add remotes you physically plug them into the head unit with a special plug and that syncs them so they work. My "HomeLink" in my mustang was perfectly happy copying my hand unit to open that door. But since GM decided to go with cheaper Generic Universal remotes, there is no "copy" feature like with HomeLink. Now - The Generics aren't bad remotes, they just don't work with as many head units, and can't copy a transmitter.

To that note :: My old Craftsman Head unit that I programmed to work from my SRX, only will remember 6 remotes. All 6 were being used (Family)... I removed my daughters hand held from the group, so I could program the SRX into the head unit. That didn't make my daughter very happy, but she doesn't live at home anymore anyway.

Also : My SRX did NOT come with that sexy lady that is driving in the SRX Commercial on TV. I am thinking about calling customer service and letting them know she is missing. I mean, if they included her in the car on the commercial, then she must be part of the deal! I wonder if she is an after market accessory!

Re: So... What is wrong with your NEW SRX?

Originally Posted by Professor Wizard

Robersch... It is the Factory Visor Universal. Yes, I am thinking something is wrong with it because others state theirs works fine - and the fact that all other remotes in my household work fine opening these doors....... But since GM decided to go with cheaper Generic Universal remotes, there is no "copy" feature like with HomeLink. Now - The Generics aren't bad remotes, they just don't work with as many head units, and can't copy a transmitter.......!

Interesting that GM changed for 2009. Our SRX is a 2005 and a friend has a 2008 SRX and both appear to be ~ identical; their SRX unit operates their garage door (genie), their community access gate (??), and their sons garage door (??); and all were programmed by the SRX controller learning from each of the separate remotes being activated.

Re: So... What is wrong with your NEW SRX?

Well... Here is an UPDATE!

I dropped my SRX off at the dealership (Elco Cadillac - great people!) on Monday - they kept it for a couple of days. They gave me a DTS with 750miles on it to drive. I learned that I didn't care for the DTS.

Below is a detail list... It upsets me a bit that with the two biggest things I took it in for, they are telling me can not be fixed - and that is the Nav Screen not turning OFF, and the transmission shifting like a mad hatter when in cruise on the highway.

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NAV/RADIO WILL NOT TURN OFF:

Tech says this is normal, and they can not make it go off. No TSB's or write ups about it. ((Does yours turn off when you hit the power button, or just turn into a big blue lightbulb like mine? Has anyone gotten a dealer to fix it?))

Tech says this is normal - no TSB's or Write Ups about it. ((Does anyone else's car do this "crazy shift" crap when in cruise on trips? Has anyone gotten their dealership to fix it?))

End of Issue... GM will not repair.

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DRIVERS DOOR DROPS:

Dealer re-aligned all doors.. NICE! Closes with gentle push now.

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WATER DRIPS:

Dealer could not reduplicate - blew out all drain tubes. (Considering it is much cooler and lower humidity lately, I figured they would not get it to drip - glad they at least tried. So we wait until next summer on this one.)

Dealership ordered replacement unit - YEA! This actually surprised me! I figured they would try to say it works how it works.

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SEXY LADY MISSING.

Tech stated Sexy Lady only comes with certain V series and XLR Models. So I'm out of luck. But he did say I might be able pick up an after market girl at some of the high class clubs! He also indicated that used models were available online!

Re: So... What is wrong with your NEW SRX?

Another Update....

So, I have my daughter and her baby in my SRX, and it is 50 degrees and she is cold... so I set the Air Temp to 75 degrees... after a while I notice it is not getting any warmer... so I set the temp to 88 degrees.... 10 minutes later it is about 60 degrees.

Bummer.. my heater isn't heating - - well.. actually the automatic temp control is not doing anything UNLESS you set it to MAX.. THEN the defrost kicks in and starts putting heat.

So.. if I switch Fan and Vent to Manual.. then heat to MAX, I get heat. If I don't do those things.. I get outside air temp.

NICE!

So, I received my note in the mail that the other parts are ready, so I guess I'll have them look at the heater control while they are fixing the other stuff.

I am ever so slowly thinking I should not have bought an American car!

Re: So... What is wrong with your NEW SRX?

Wizard, regarding the visor remote unit: I have the Lear Universal on my '08 (three buttons/three lights), and it just would not talk to my Linear-brand garage openers. We tried everything, just wouldn't work. I had to go to the Lear website and buy a $25 adapter for my garage opener, that will talk to the Caddy unit.
Now it works, but I threatened to send GM the bill for the adapter.

Re: So... What is wrong with your NEW SRX?

Wrench... yes... the 09' openers are NOT the same as prior years... GM saved some bucks by getting away from the HomeLink brand and going with the cheapo Chinese one. This unit will only work with openers that let you "sync" to them - and then not all brands are supported. You should send GM a bill for the adapter - but considering they are bankrupt, and not paying the people they already owe money to - don't' hold your breath waiting for the check!

Now - back to my subject at hand... I FINALLY got my SRX back.

First.. dropped it off with heater complaint... they returned it saying nothing was wrong.. no codes, no TSB's... I returned it with same complaint - plus some diagnostic details of my own... They returned it to me saying nothing was wrong - again.... again I returned to to them saying fix the damn thing and making quite a stink about it... they called me at my work telling me yet again that there was nothing wrong with it.. so I cut out for lunch and went to the dealership.. had them start the car in their parking lot and let it run while I listened to the Tech explain to me how the computer could not find nothing wrong - - and while I told him maybe it was probably something the computer wasn't hooked too, and maybe he should start being a mechanic instead of a computer operator! (Stupid Techs today don't fix things, they just let computers tell them what to replace!) Anyway - My car sat there for 20minutes while we talked, and the tech accidentally left the temp setting on 83 degrees. Well - when I got ready to get into car I noticed the setting.. however temp was actually around 60 degrees.. I had Tech sit in passenger seat and explain to me how setting of 83 but real temp of 60 was NORMAL.. of course.. he could not explain that... I made a lot more noise and started my own assessments right there on the parking lot... looking under dash, I noticed an unusual brilliant red plug on a hose!.. it looked very out of place because everything else under there was rather benign in color.

Bottom line.... I had complained about dripping water on accelerator foot from AC... The tech that worked on that, put a plug in a hose he found under dash... that particular hose happen to be part of the sensing system for the heater (not the AC.. just the Heat)... and of course, with plug in hose, heater could not tell what cabin temp was, so it went with factory safety default of - you guessed it.. 60 degrees!

So... A total week of work, several sensor replacements and excuses they sort of finally fixed my car, but they would NOT have done so if it were not for my insistence that they were WRONG and my heater was NOT acting normal. And all the Mechanic had to do was stop looking at the computer screen and start looking under the dash!

As for the other stuff on my list...
- They replaced the garage opener - I haven't had time to test it.
- They replaced the mirror - - I'm sorry they did, because the new one is more rippled then the original one.. oh well... back to the drawing board.
- They replaced my door pull handle.. good job.
- Sexy lady - - I got to flirt with the Rental Car lady..that was as close as that got!

My transmission still shifts hard and erratic when on cruise control.
The screen still turns bright blue when I turn off the Nav Unit.

BUT.. I have HEAT now.. a very handy thing to have as we approach winter!

Re: So... What is wrong with your NEW SRX?

Having the dealership replace the Garage Remote was the right thing to do. It works from a least 100 feet away now.. and opens the door every time I hit the button on a single hit. Before it would only worked if you were within 25 feet, and sometimes you had to hit the button as many as 4 times before it actually opened the door.

I still wish Cadillac used a HomeLink branded unit, like the ones that are/were in ALL my other cars - - because "My" garage door doesn't have a Sears opener.. and it doesn't allow you to "learn/Add" openers like the sears one does. It is really SAD that GM decided to save a few pennies per Caddy by going with a cheap Chinese unit, instead of sticking with the HomeLink brand. I could see them doing that on a Chevy.. but not a Caddy.

I think I found a Sears "Add On" garage door controller that will let me rig it so I can open my door with my Caddy opener.. we shall see.

Re: So... What is wrong with your NEW SRX?

New Stuff:

I'm at 21k miles now...

She is starting to fall appart!
- The control handle for the passenger side vent fell off!
- The cover on the rear wiper over the spay nozzle fell off (on the road of course so it is GONE!)
- Something is now making a very annoying tapping rattle behind me or above me - I can't tell.
- The Remote Controls are now working goofy - you have to be within 15 steps of the car before they work, and can't hit the buttons too quickly or nothing will happen - the colder it is the worse the problem.
- The Rear Overhead Control panel flops in the headliner, as if it isn't connected to anything.
- The Remote Start will only run the car for about 3 minutes - I have to restart it Twice when the temps are below 20 degrees if I want it warm enough to melt ice off of the windshield.)
- The rear non moving windows in the back doors both are loose and flop about in the frame. ( I noticed this cleaning them and was afraid I might push them out!)

The Remote thing is driving me nuts.. With Winter being here I want to use the Remote Start - - however, if I am in Front of my SRX you have to be within 15 steps of the car before the remote will do anything (IT is approximately 50 steps to my car in the driveway.) It will work from slightly farther away - 45 steps - if you are at the rear of the car.

The remote for my 05 Mustang works if you can see the car - like a football field away! (I have an UNGO Remote Start on it, and it runs the car for 12 minutes.)
The unlock/lock remote for my Honda Goldwing works easily from a couple of hundred feet away!

Re: So... What is wrong with your NEW SRX?

2007 SRX4 V8 @ 26,500 mi. While I don't qualify as a new car owner (recently bought certified pre-owned from a Cadillac dealer), I hope my short experience with the car will help some one struggling with unresolved issues, ones whose symptoms are sporadic/can't be replicated at the dealer, or may be coming up to the end of their warranty and wits end and are wondering if they can get their problem(s) resolved once and for all..

Before I begin, let me say that to me there are few things in life more frustrating than to plunk down a rather large chunk of change (54 large sticker as a starting point, pick your number) and feel that they made a poor choice when there are so many solid options out there for this vehicle size/class in either the SUV or crossover vehicle market. Adding insult to injury, to have the unresolved issue(s) nagging you, staring you in the face, or ringing in your ears every single day, every mile driven. Personally, it amazes me that my 2007 SRX, which is the fourth year of the first generation SRX, has manufacturing and/or design issues that should have been long since eradicated on the front end, before the car reached the showrooms and the customers.

In their defense, the dealers and their service departments are stuck fixing mistakes not of their making. But they take on the entire wrath of those within a disgruntled buying public. We shoot the messenger so to speak. How many of us, for example, have had bilge water accumulating in the rear jack storage area? An uncooperative or rattling sunroof? Suspension issues well within warranty periods, some of which come and go and can't be replicated when we arrive at the dealership?

The complexity that defines a high end vehicle in today's automotive market is partially to blame. One only has to glance at the features and options, a 500 page owners' manual, or the 100 page DVD/NAV/entertainment system supplement to realize that the market has created a monster, and we can't go back. Yet some manufacturers consistently do a better job than others as one can clearly visualize when glancing at those solid black "much worse than normal" circles in a Consumer Reports owners satisfaction survey issue. No Toyota jokes, please. Even the top import dogs are no longer the bastions of "bulletproof", pick your continent, country of origin, or manufacturer.

Yet the solution for you and me is in the execution. We cannot fix the underlying issues that got the manufacturer(s) in a quality pickle, except to vote with our feet and our checkbooks. I could have picked a plethora of what appears to the casual observer and to the informed alike a vehicle with a better initial quality or long term track record than the SRX. But I CHOSE the SRX despite my research because this Cadillac offered me the price/performance/convenience/appearance/functionality that TO ME set the SRX apart from the herd. The solution to the shortcomings is now in my hands.

Forums such as this are a goldmine of "solution" information for the consumers. But so few of us on a relative basis take the time to do our homework and use these forums to our advantage, either before purchasing or after. I am guilty of that when my emotions take over and in exasperation simply dump the car off and demand: "Fix it!" I cannot comment on what sort of data base dealers use to diagnose and treat the automotive patient. I have read TSBs (technical service bulletins) and have concluded that those writing them need a serious lesson in communication. Management needs to categorize and manage the service data. And corporate types and the pencil heads need to bridge the gaps between numerical occurences, customer satisfaction, impact on market share, and their profitabiliy/SURVIVAL Better yet, have them (mandatory) spend a week in the service area of a dealership so they can go back to corporate and make a difference! The corporate vision and the realities of operations cannot be kept separate as isolated entities.....they should be joined at the hip, but it doesn't seem so to me.

3.) Third Row Seat Does Not Fully Retract Flush to the Floor: Diagnosed as the "stop calibration." Recalibrated. Seat folds flush.

4.) Jack Storage Area Under Third Row Seat Taking On Water: Diagnosed as a gap in a pinch weld around hatch opening. Sealed. Leak gone.

5.) Utraview Sunroof Express Open and Close Not Functioning: Diagnosed as an alignment and lubrication Issue. Aligned and lubricated. Working for now......

Forums such as this gave me the answers BEFORE I took the car back in for resolution. I at least had the peace of mind knowing the answers to the problems going in, that they were fixable, thanks to you guys. I didn't share that knowlege with the dealer tech service writer, and the dealer technical service reps did a fine job by themselves without any "help" from me. But I was ready to "help."

Another observation. I was the customer from hell. I emailed my complete list of issues and a detailed description of the symptoms to both the sales rep and to the Service Manager before booking my first srvice appointment. First names, last names, titles, days/dates, vin #, stock #. Then I kept the email thread back and forth alive to and from the dealership, even documenting day/date/time/person spoken to/title phone calls. Was I gearing up for a war? One that could eliminate any discussion about the who, why, where, when, and how? One that could hold up in a lemon law action in a MA. court if necessary? You bet. Did that help "motivate" the other side to get rid of me. I don't know, but I would like to think it was unnecessary and that the dealer would have done the right thing by me without the spectre of an early and often full court press.

In another forum I read where a gentleman had his new 2007 SRX back to the dealer "20 times' over the first 24 months, mostly over recurring issues which he said his dealer could not make go away. And several of them. His take after driving Acuras was that the SRX was "junk" and that "no one should buy one." My take, he was far too patient and trusting. Naive as well because he stuck it out with the same dealer and service department and didn't explore the lemon laws at his disposal right out of the box. Was he wrong to expect more than he got? No, and no customer should be treated that way. You escalate, change dealership horses if necessary and practical, and press. And educate yourself through these forums. Summary: expect what you expect, and more often than not that is exactly what you are going to get.

My Cadillac dealer doesn't know me from Adam because this is my first transaction dealing with them. Was I aggravated over the certified pre-owned propaganda? You bet. A service that this dealership performed touting the words, and I quote, "impeccable condition," "thoroughly inspected," "110 quality points," peace of mind," "comprehensive," "scrutinized," "stringent guidelines," and "integrity." I had a face-to-face with the service folks over that one. "Explain, please, how any of these words describe what was performed before I took delivery? Or how all of these issues escaped your pre-certifion process but were found by a knucklehead know nothing like myself. By the way, the service technician who performed the pre-certification process on my vehicle......who was he? I don't want him working on my SRX."

But I will also give credit where credit is due. I'll give my Cadillac dealershp five stars for after-the-fact results so far because that is what counts at the end of the day. I am two thousand miles down the road since purchase.

Hope this blather helps someone out there. If nothing else, I got my wife off my case for the time being.

Re: So... What is wrong with your NEW SRX?

Professor and JSI....re the rear window washer squirting into the air. It isn't a rear window washer. You have the 007 option package which includes a hose that squirts oil on the bad guys chasing you. I have been unable to find out how it operates after reading the entire 500+ page owners' manual and am moving on to the 100+page DVD/NAV manual. It must be in there.